Planetary piston fluid displacement mechanism



July 5 1949 J. MIKULASEK 2,475,247

PLANETARY PISTON FLUID DISPLACEMENT MECHNISM Filed May 22, 1944 3Sheets-Sheet l July 5, 1949 u J. MlKuLAsEK 2,475,247

PLANETARY PISTON FLUID DISPLACENIENT MECHANISM v Filed May 22, 1944 3Sheets-Sheet 2 .IuIy 5, 1949. J. MIKULASEK PLANETARY PISTON FLUIDDISPLACEMEINT` MECHANISM Filed May 22, 1944 5 Sheets-Sheet I5k I I I I II I I I IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIllllIlIl IIYIIII-IIIIIIIIIII/IIIIIIIIII Patented Jul-y 5., -1 949 PLANETARY PISTON FLUIDDISPLACEMENT MECHANISM .lohn Mikulasek, Bellevue, lIowa Application MayZ2, 1944, Serial No. 536,841

6 Claims.

`The present invention fis directed to a displacement mechanismyembodying the use of `spiralblades opposit'ely disposed and nestedwith- 'in a casing with suitable actuating means for `causing `suchblades "to rmovably lcooperate and to trap fluid within Vcells formedbetween the blades and to cause suchiluid to flow from one to the otherlof inlet and "outlet openings that `arelocated lin the casing. Thepresent structure set forth in the design ofthe displacementmechanismherein disclosed and described is very sim- `ilar to thedisplacementmechanisrns disclosed and described in my izo-.pendingapplication S. N. 528,- 304, filed March 27, `1944. Thefundamental'principles of the use of oppositelyrelated spiralawith thespirals in each group being angularly'displaced and also with thespirallblades dof one group being offset radially with respect to -the"spiral 'blades vof the other group are all generally and specificallydescribed in `connection with the ,above mentioned co-pendingapplication.

More specifically, one of 'the main objects :of the present inventionis'to provide a displacement mechanism having spiral Ablades whereineach blade or each-of thesets of blades of each group aremovably'mounted toreduce therelative 1motion vbetween the 'blades byreducingthe eccentricity of `such blades. In Vother words, the :presentdevice-has each oftheloladesmovably mounted in such fashion that theoscillation is accomplished between'the blades byrnoving eachblade orgroups ofblades one-half'of the distance normally required by deviceswherein .one blade or set or" blades is fixed whilethe other blade orset of blades are solely movable relative to the former.

This relative oscillatory movement 'between the oppositely relatedblades is'advantageous in elimihating considerable counter-balancingproblems which must be consideredto reduce vibrationin such a unitparticularly'when the same is being operated at relatively high speeds.This feature or advantage is particularly iwell disclosedin one form ofthe present device wherein groups o'f spirals or blades are drivenbyoppositely disposed eccentrics or cranks, andtherefore it is apparentthat .under operation such blades will have equal masses acting inopposition to each other during the oscillation of'such blades.

It is another object of thepresent `invention .to provide la means vinthe nature of .a sealing ring that is adapted to move with one .of thesets of 'blades during the oscillation thereof to provide propercommunication between the interior of the spiral cellular `chambersandthe dischargeyport l of the pump. l'Such asealing 'ring also providesis obtained of the blade during the continual (Cl. 10S-130) ..2 a meansthrough lthe resilient construction 'embodied therein for exerting axialpressure against one of the sets of spiral -blades to maintain 'the samein-snug operating contact with the `other oppositely `related spiralblades thereby holding such opposit'elyrelated blades in nested andleak- -proofrelationduring the operationof the device.

-Also in connection with the ab'ove'resilient axial pressure, otheradditional resilient `means 'is disclosed for the purpose of maintainingthe respec- -tive convolutions of one of the sets of spiral Anotherobject ofthe `present invention vis to `provide a ydisplacementmechanismwherein the blade supporting discs are bothrotatably mounted in ofi-setrelation for carrying 'their corresponding blade `or sets of 'spiralblades in continuous `rotative motion. vHowever, insuch construction,

the generating centers of each of the blades or common vthereto lareoffset with respect `to the center of rotation 'of the adjacent vdiscsupporting such blade or blades whereby a true oscillation rotation ofthe disc. Therefore, by offsetting each 'of the vdiscs a predeterminedamount, 'and by offsettingI the blade 0r blades of each disc with Athegenerating center common tosuch blades eccentrically disposed withrespect to the center of rotation it is possible to obtain therotational movement of the .discs wherein each of the oppositelyrelatedblades or sets ofvblades are caused to oscillate one-'half of thedistance between the spaces of adjacent convolutions of the blades.Furthermoraby using moreblades in each group 'it is posibletosubstantially reduce the vibration of the'displacem-ent mechanism to .aVerymini- 'mum inasmuch as the-distances between adjacent `corrvolutionswill thereby alsobe reduced.

In displacement mechanisms using .dual rotatingxdiscs for .obtaining thenecesaryoscillation `andpumping action of the coacting spiral .blades ofeach .disc .it is important vto drive bothy of .the discs at constantand synchronized speeds inasmuch as any variation of one of the .disc.blade .units with respect to the other discblade Aunits would causebinding between convolutions of the spiral blades and interfere with the.operation of the pump. It is therefore .another object `of this.invention to provide a driving means for actuating the discs topositively cause concerted movement of both discs and therefore .of thevnested blades of each disc in synchronized speed relation to obtain thehighest eiciency possible in a device of this kind.

As will be understood by referring to the drawings and to the co-pendingapplication hereinbefore designated, it will be obvious that as theblades are rotated the sizes of the plurality of cells between thecoacting convolutions of the sets of blades will diminish from theradially outer periphery of such blades to the center thereof. However,as these cells are decreased, the action is successive in nature and thefluid trapped within the cells will be steadily compressed so that therelative pressure difference between each successive cell during theprogress of this compression will be relatively small counteractingleakage of fluid from the higher pressure cell to the lower pressurecell.

Furthermore, when the displacement mechanism is being operated at higherspeeds any such possible leakage of fluid from one of the higherpressured cells to the lower pressured cells will be substantiallynegligible.

The above mentioned theory augmented by the introduction of resilientmeans such as referred to for maintaining the blades in nested relationand also the additional means for convolutionally maintaining suchblades in operative contact produces a device which is highly efficientand relatively simple in construction.

All other advantages and features not hereinbefore referred to shall besubsequently set forth in the following detailed description havingreference to the several illustrations in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view taken transversely to the axis of adisplacement mechanism of the present construction and substantially asviewed along the line I I in Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a vertical cross sectional view as taken substantially alongthe diameter of the pump as viewed on line 2 2 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is another cross-sectional view of a. modified construction ofdisplacement mechanism also taken transversely to the axis of the deviceand substantially as viewed along the line 3 3 in Fig. 4;

Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken approximately along theline 4 4 in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is another transverse sectional view of still another modifiedconstruction as viewed substantially along the line 5 5 in Fig. 6;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal cross-sectional view through the deviceillustrated in Fig. 5 and as taken substantially along the line 6 6therein; and

Fig. '7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along thelines 1 1 in Figs. 5 and 6 to illustrate certain details ofconstruction.

It is to be understood that the displacement mechanism of the presentinvention may have many uses. Although the device has hereinbefore beenreferred to as a pump, it is also possible to use the displacementmechanism as a blower, compressor, booster pump, vacuum pump, aspiratoror in other similar capacities. Furthermore, the fluids being used mayvary in nature. For example, if the device is being used as a motor itis possible to supply the same with fluid under pressure that may beair, vapor, thermally heated fluid or expansive gases such as can bevsupplied by internal combustion means, etc.

Therefore, referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the pump is generally indicatedby the reference numeral Ill and is enclosed by a casing made in twoseparable sections I I and I2 respectively, for purposes of assembly. Afluid opening I3 extends from the upper periphery of the pump while asubstantially axially disposed opening I4 is provided in the wall of thesection I2 of the casing. Disposed within the connes of the casing arethe discs I5 and I6, disc I5 being adapted to carry the spiral blades I1and I8 while the disc I6 carries the spiral blades 20 and 2|. The discsI5 and I6 are disposed in parallel spaced relation as best shown in Fig.2 with the blades of one disc oppositely disposed and nested within theconvolutions of the blades of the other disc. Furthermore, asillustrated in Fig. 1 it will be noted that the blades I1 and I8 of thedisc I5 are disposed in 180 degree angular displacement with respect toeach other while the blades 26 and 2| of disc I6 are also similarlylocated in relation to their supporting disc. The number of blades ineach group may be increased in which case the angular displacement willbe equal to 360 degrees divided by the number of blades. Therefore, byusing four blades the relative angular displacement therebetween will bedegrees.

The mounting means and the mechanism for oscillating the discs I5 and I6is best illustrated in Fig. 2. A pair of shafts 22 and 23 are mounted inthe casing walls and extend therebetween for driving the eccentrics 24and 25 adjacent the wall of section I2 of the casing and also theeccentrics 26 and 21 disposed adjacent the wall of section Il of thecasing. The disc I5 is provided with a pair of bosses 28 and 30 whichact as followers, such bosses having the eccentrics 26 and 21 nestedtherein. Similarly, the disc I6 is provided with bosses such as 3! and32 for cooperating with the eccentrics 24 and 25 in a similar manner.Obviously rotation of shafts 22 and 23 will cause the eccentricsconnected with each shaft in degree offset relationship to move thediscs I5 and I6 toward and away from each other in oscillatory fashionto produce the pumping action within the cooperating spiral blades ofeach of said discs. Inasmuch as shafts 22 and 23 rotate on iixed axes,each disc is provided with openings to permit oscillation of the discsrelative to the shafts. Disc I 5 has openings 33 and 34 while disc I6has similar openings 35 and 36 for such clearance purposes.

Gears such as 31 and 38 are conveniently secured to shafts 22 and 23 inany suitable manner, and such gears are driven by a common gear 40secured to and driven by a shaft 4I that may be connected in anydesirable fashion to a source of power.

Each of the eccentrics such as 24 and 25 are provided to carry springs42 and 43 which react between the eccentrics 24 and 25 and theirrespective shafts 22 and 23 to force the disc I6 radially in a directionto maintain contact between the abutting portions of the convolutions ofthe coacting spiral blades. It will be seen that each eccentric 24 and25 is slotted as at 44 and 45 for straddling the fiat portions 46 and 41on each of the shafts 22 and 23 respectively. Since the contact pointsbetween the respective blades will always be in the direction of thehigh points of the cams 24 and 25, it is seen that the springs 42 and 43will always act in the same direction as the radially aligned points ofline contact between the convolutions of the respective blades.

By the same principle it is obvious that the cam.

pyridine? `illernbers "26 and "i1 may Valso be provided "with similarresilient means to "urge the blades f-If and I8 of the disc 'l5 intooperativecontact with their `mating' Ablade convolutions of the oppositedisc i6.

inasmuch as the disc i6 oscillates Iduring the ioperaion of thepuinp,fit is necessary toprovide somefform of sealing means betweensuchldisc `'and the wall ofsectio'n -I 2 of the casi-ng to providesuitable communicating means between the in t'erinr o'f the pump 'bladesandthe Aports l! tfor col'lveyfir'ir,r iiuids. Therefore a sleeve suchas is snugly fitted Awithin the vopening 50 provided in the disc I6 andis ilanged as Aat 5i to 1provide an annular leg which is acted upon bytwoor more springs 5,2 which `are carried Aby the disc 'l5 in the mannerbest illustratedin Fig-2. Not

only does this sealing means described forrna gap between the interiorof the pump andthe opening i4, but the A*salme also provides ar'eactionary means which causes the dis-c foto be urged axially of thepump for n'naintaining the spiral blades in operative end to end nested're'- lation during the operation-of the pump.

Withthe construction of pump above described and disclosed in Figs. landr2, it will be seen that upon operation of this pump and due to theoppositely related `'positions of the eccentrics vthereof that `the two*discs and their respective 'blades will at all times "be-operated inradially opposite directions therebyneutralizingvibratory action due tothis motion.

VIn the modilied construction of pump'illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 thecasing generally indicated at 55 and comprises the two sections "56 and51 that are conveniently connected and have a port at the upperperiphery of the pump as indicated at 58. A pair of discs 6i] and 6l areparallelly disposed within the 'casing similarlyto the discs l5 and I 6in the previously described pump but inthe latter case referringto Figs.`3 and 4, the disc 60 is mounted for rotation about an axis a. while thedisc El is mounted for rotation upon an axis b, said axes being offsetin the manner shown yin Fig. 4. As seen in Fig. 4 the disc Gilterminates axially in a sleeve such as 62 which is journaled in abearing boss 63 connected with the wall of section 56 of the pump casing55. A pulley wheelsuch as Gli is keyed at 55 to the sleeve 62 forrotatably driving disc 60 upon its axis a.

The axial portion of the wail casing `section 51 terminates in a tubularport 65 determined by the bearing sleeve 61 which supports the disc 6lby means of sleeve"68 for rotation about the axis o. The inner end ofthe sleeve 68 is closed as at 10 and a plurality of peripherally locatedholes such as 1| provide communicating ports between the interior of thepump blade chamber and the port 66.

In this construction, each disc carries two or more spiral blades incooperative engagement as described in connection with Figs. 1 and 2 andthe blades carried by the disc 'ED are designated by 12 and 13 while theblades carried by the disc 6| are designated as 14 and 15. However, inthe construction in Figs. 3 and 4 it isse'en that the discs 60 and y6lare vcontinuously rotated about individually x'ed axes. In lthisconstruction, however, the spiral blades are offset with theirrespective generic centerseccentrically displaced with respect to thecenters *oi rotation of the respective discsill and l'l which carryvsuch blades. The same actoniis "obtained'as inthe l"form described inyconnection with Figs. 'l and "2 but 'the in Figs. 3 andy'f4'obtains"this action tby l. 'continuous 'revolution of the iworklngparts `-of thepuinp. v'Thief-being the 'case it is necessary'tlrt boththe discs 60 and 6 1 "-aredriven at the same speeds. Suchsynchronization of speed may-be obtained with various forms ofmechanisms'but in the "present casejuniversal means suchfas indicatedgenerally *at Y1B is `incorporated to establish such Ia drive. A-discl11 vhas `a stem -18 located'within the sleeve 82 andl a set screw L811-Yis adapted Vto position the stem 18 `'within the vsleeve '62 Ywhilethe -nut 8l threaded upon the end 82 of 4'the' stem 18 'provides a meansfor 'locking vsuchstem and its attached disc '11 in xed angular relationwith respect -to the sleeve -52 'and also thedi-sc.

The'faceifof-disc '11 is provided with a sli'deway i'B33 while theclosed `end 10 of ythe'sleeve 68 is provided'wth-asimilar slideway 84disposed'at right angles tothe slideway83. A circular discis=interposedibetweenfthe "falce of the disc 11 and the closed end 10 ofthe sleeve -68 and disc 85 'has slots 8\6"andi1`in' the 'opposite facesAthereof for coactingwithv'the slideways 83 and 84th provide a universal-drive between the blade carrying' discs lill and 81| respectivelyTherefore,y as `*the 4pulley-wheel'164 is 'rotated by suitableAfbeltIr-ieans each'of the discs 16D and'fGl fvwill be rotated inian'gular s'ynchronism causing 'the blades'o'f each disc to'oooperatel'and move in eccentric pathsfddeto their Ioffset relation oftheir'resepctive'generic centers 'with lrespect to the axes ofrotation-*thereby obtaining fluid-compression "as desired. Afny :angularadjustment necessary'between ltheA oppositely disposed spiral blades Itoobtain the correct contact between the respective convolutions-oTsuohblades may easily be had by adjusting the vset-screav 8U 'andi-bylocking the disc"6'01and-'its Acorresipondinfg blades by means of "themitm to `maintain such .contacting relation 'between the' blades.

Referring now to'Figs. 5,'-6` andi? another modied construction' ofdisplacement "mechanism :is shown having asepafiable'casing :consisting'of section-sf' :and'fl suitably 'fastened Ytogether' b'y any desirablemeans. In this case, "the `dises hereinbefore refered to Ain connectionVwith `the other constructions -Aare -rsupplanted "by y-a ypair o'fgears 92 and 293 tor-'carrying the spiral blades 9495 and196`91resp`ectively- An offset shaft 98 carries gears f9f9an=d U00 lordriving the-'gears 92 and93 respectively. f'lhis produces a drive whichsynchronizes @the motion ofthe gears 92 and 93 which here act in thecapacity of the discs formerly explained. `Such `gears will -o'bviouslymove the blades -of-'eafch oppositely related set thetdresiredlmanner.In 'this construction the blades `will :also be olset asin the 'formdescribed in connection with Figs. 3 and 4, such blades beingeccentric'ally disposed with respect to the axes' of rotation of thegears whereas `the actual 'motion of veach lof "the .blade sets will beeccentric relatively'to each vother `to obtain the pumpin'gfaction.'In'this design as well a's vthat illustrated in Figs. 3 and "4 thefoil'set :of each set of blades is such that the actual eccentricity fofthe blades in one set will'be'fone-'half the radial. distances betweenada-oent convolutions of 'the blades.

It is through this rotary motionv that :the os` cillatory motion y'-o'ffthe `"blades is obtained, and i='t"w'il l` also 4be "seen thatinthesa-me instance `as in 'thers't construction'wherein the blades moveradially towardieah otherland radially Aaway from each "other duringlopera-tion, reducing v.

7 bration, the same mechanical equivalents exist in this latterconstruction of Figs. 5 to 7 inclusive inasmuch as the blades act in thesame manner although the bodily rotation thereof is continuous. Thisalso applies to the construction in Fics. 3 and 4.

Referring again to Figs. 5 and 7 inclusive, it will be seen that aperipheral port is provided for fluid passage into the casing whereasanother `port |02 is provided as shown in Figs. 6 and 7 for fluiddischarge purposes. A sleeve member |93 provides the walls of the port|02 and extends inwardly into the casing to form a bearing |94 forrotatably supporting the hub of the gear 92. Suitable screws or otherfastening means such as |00 may be used for securing the sleeve |03 tothe side wall of the casing section 90.

A plug such as |07 is secured to the wall of casing section 9i as bymeans of screws |08 and has an nwardiy extending sleeve member ||0providing the bearing means for the hub of the gear 93. The flangedportion H2 of the plug |07 has an annular gasket ||3 for sealing theopening llt in the wall of casing section 9|. Similarly, the flange l l5of the port sleeve |93 is also adapted to seal the opening ||9 in thewall of casing section 99 by means of a suitable gasket such as l il.Furthermore, it is to be noted that these sections consisting of thesleeve port |03 and the plug member |07 are made to be interchangeableso that the discharge port may be located at either side of the pumpcasing as needed by conditions of operation. It is also possible to usetwo ports such as defined by the sleeve |03 in the event that thepressures are great enough to deliver fluid from both sides of thecasing under certain conditions of operation.

By referring to Fig. 7, it will be seen that the gear 92 is adapted torotate about the axis C while the gear 93 is adapted to rotate about theaxis d to obtain the eccentricity relation somewhat as shown in Figs. 3and 4. It will also be noted as best illustrated in Fig. 5 that thegears 99 and |09 are located at a point where the pitch circles of thelarge gears 92 and 93 coincide producing a proper driving relationshipbetween such eccentrically located gears. It is also possible to locatethe offset shaft 90 at 180 degrees to the position indicated in Fig. 5for driving the gears 92 and 93. Or, if desired, it is also within thepurview of the present invention to locate two units such as the shaft99 and gears 99 and |00 at both sides of the pump illustrated in Fig. 5to obtain a dual driving relationship.

It is to be understood that the foregoing description and disclosuresare all more or less specically directed to exemplary constructions ofthe present displacement mechanism and that various changes andmodifications are contemplated which will produce equivalent mechanismsor mechanical structures that shall function or produce the sameoperative requirements in a like manner as will the mechanismsdescribed. It is therefore obvious that the present form, construction,or combination of parts described and illustrated are not to be limitedto the exact disclosures excepting insofar as such structures shall bedefined and determined by the breadth and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a fluid displacement device having a casing with a pair ofopenings therein, a pair of movable discs in said casing and disposed inparallel spaced relation with respect to each other,

a plurality of spiral blades of equal thickness fil throughout theirlengths carried by each disc in equal angular spaced relation, theblades of one disc being radially offset with respect to the blades ofsaid other disc, said blades being nested between said discs with theconvolutions of the blades on one dise substantially in contact with theconvolutions of the blades on the other disc to provide cells betweensaid blades, reactionary means interposed between a wall of said casingand one of said discs tc urge the latter and its connected bladesaxially toward the other of said discs and its connected blades tomaintain said blades of each disc in nested leakproof relation, andfurther reactionary means connected with one 0f said discs to maintainthe contacting p0rtions of said convolutions of the blades on said onedisc in leakproof contact with the convolutions of the blades of theother of said discs, said latter reactionary means being adapted tofollow the plurality of aligned contacted points of the respectiveconvolutions of said groups of blades during the movement of said discs,and actuating means for moving said discs to progressively trap fluidwithin said cells and to conduct said uid from one to the other of saidcasing openings.

2. In a fluid displacement device, a casing having a pair of openings,two sets of coacting spiral blades having the blades of each setdisplaced in equal angular relation with respect to each other, saidblade sets each being offset radially with the convolutions of one setof blades in contact with the convolutions of the other set of blades toprovide cells between said blades sets, oscillatory supporting means for each set of blades respectively, and actuating means to cause saidsupporting means to oscillate the blade sets and thereby trap iluidwithin said cells to conduct the iiuid from one to the other of saidopenings through said casing, said actuating means comprising drivemeans including spaced eccentrics for each blade set, the eccentrics forone blade set being oppositely positioned from the eccentrics of theother blade set, and follower means connected with each set 0f bladesand operatively connected with the eccentrics for each set of bladesrespectively to cause said blades to oscillate whenever said drive meansfunctions.

3. In a fluid displacement apparatus, a casing having an inlet and anoutlet, a pair of spaced parallel and rotary disks in said casing, saiddisks having spiral blades extending in overlapping relation, the bladesof one disk being radially offset with respect to the blades of theother disk, each disk having a pair of spaced cup-like bearings upon itsouter surface, the bearings on one disk being radially oiset withrespect to the bearings on the other disk, cams rotatably mounted insaid bearings, the cams on one disk being oppositely disposed withrespect to the cams on the other disk, a pair of driving shafts, eachconnecting a cam on one disk with the cam more directly opposite on theother disk and means for rotating said shafts in opposite directions.

4. In a fluid displacement apparatus, a casing having an inlet and anoutlet, a pair of spaced parallel and rotary disks in said casing, saiddisks having spiral blades extending toward each other in overlappingrelation, the blades of one disk being radially offset with respect tothe blades of the other, a pair of spaced shafts journalled in saidcasing and extending through said disks, driving connections betweensaid shafts and one disk for moving said disk in one direction anddriving means between said shafts and the other disk for forcing suchother disk in the opposite direction.

5. In a fluid displacement apparatus, a casing having an inlet and anoutlet, a pair of spaced parallel and rotary disks supported in saidcasing, yielding ineans between one disk and the adjacent wall of thecasing to allow lateral movement of such dislz, said disks having spiralblades exm tending in overlapping relation, a pair of spaced drivingshafts joulnalled in said casing and extending tin'ough said disks,yielding driving means between said shafts and one of said disks andeiective for shifting such disk in one direction, and drivingconnections `netween .said shafts and the other disk effective forshifting such disk in the opposite direction.

6. In a fluid displacement apparatus, a casing having an inlet and anoutlet, a pair of spaced parallel and rotary disks mounted in saidcasing, spaced parallel shafts journalled in said casing and extendingthrough said disks, cams secured to said shafts in operative relation tosaid disks, the cams engaging one disk being oppositely di rected withrespect to those engaging the other disk and yielding means between oneof said disks and the adjacent Wall of said casing.

JOHN MIKULASEK.

10 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the fileof this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

